335 My SI Stash #35 - A God's Ascension In Remnant by flameclawsxx (RWBY)
-Pretty refreshing to see a different take on the whole Gamer system, the domains especially is a great addition~ I'm just hoping the author won't put this one on hiatus like the two others I've recommended up here/
Synopsis: Awakening in a soggy glade somewhere in another world wasn't something that I had planned for... but with this small box telling me that I'm a god? I sure as hell am about to roll with it! (Gamer Elements) (SI-Oc)
Rated: T
Words: 27K
Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13624546/1/A-God-s-Ascension-In-Remnant (flameclawsxx)
PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)
-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)
Chapter 1-3 (exceptional)
'where the hell am I?!'
I blankly stare across a small clearing, several puddles of water litter the landscape, showing that it had rained rather recently.
I have been drugged, kidnapped, and shrunk.
Isekai! Grand! I love that genre...
I look down to my clothes revealing a small white t-shirt and long grey sweatpants... similar to what I was wearing when I went to sleep last night.
[Welcome to the god system, you Quasi deity, you!]
"…" I flinch at the sudden appearance of a screen and voice.
"I-I have the gamer system?!" I whisper under my breath.
[INCORRECT!] the screen pings loudly.
[You have the 'God's Ascension' System! Completely different! There are no simple stats! Only divine ranks!]
"…"
A new screen pops up.
Name: ?
Race: Human
Divine Ranks: 0
Divine Status: Quasi-Deity
Divine Perks:
None
Domains: 0/1
(Undecided)
Total Faith: 0
Worshipers: 0
Fanatic Worshipers: 0
Priests: 0
Churches: 0
Battle Modifier: 0
Miricle Bonus: 0
Total Faith required for next divine rank: 25
"…"
"Hwaht?"
[You have been granted a choice to become all powerful! Congratulations, you! But, like all things, you start out weak, the very bottom, barely even a divine creature!]
'Rude.'
[But eventually, you will be able to create planets! Create Races! Travel dimensions! The worlds are your oyster and you will be the chaotic being who isekai's people!]
'Wait... what's the difference between me and a normal human? Are just regular humans divine rank 0?'
[Incorrect! Regular humans lack a divine rank AT ALL, not a 'zero' but literally nothing... Divine rank 0 grants creatures the 'spark' to progress into godhood, and while regular humans CAN in fact eventually get a divine rank 0, they typically have to either kill a god, or be granted divine ranks by Greater Deities!]
[As a Quasi-deity, you don't need to eat, breathe, drink, sleep, are immune to the effects of aging, plus are faster, stronger, and more durable than regular individuals of their race.]
[Plus! You may- as a Divine Rank 0- do 3 'Petty Divine Abilities' per Week!]
"What ar-"
[What are 'Divine Abilities', you ask? Well, simply put they are what you use to create planets, magic, races, entire dimensions, heal the sick and revive the dead! However, because you are so weak, you only gain access to 'Petty Divine abilities', and only three at that! Even demigods can use an unlimited amount of these! With this ability, you can do many things! Heal average non-life threatening wounds like a scraped knee or broken nose, make plant life grow slightly faster, turn weak undead! Really, it can be anything, and it is enhanced even more by coinciding with your chosen domain(s)! (you will gain more at higher divine ranks)]
"And dom-"
[Domains, are simply your area of expertise, they decide what sort of god you are going to be! You want to be unnatural, spooky, and feared across the world? Choose the death domain! You want to be a mysterious and mystical being who sews seeds of wonder wherever he goes? Magic domain! Now, please hurry up and select a domain!]
A MASSIVE list appears in front of me... there are EASILY over two hundred.
Acid, Air, Alcohol, Animal, it really goes on and on...
[Upon selecting your first domain, you will be granted a perk (Or Perks) depending on the level of strength of the domain! So while something like 'Death' might make it so you can see the lifespan of a target, weaker ones like 'Water' might let you create and control steam AND grant a separate perk for ice.]
"Hrmmm..." I let out a long hum as I sit down.
I have selected something that even Yukari fucking Yakumo from touhou would approve of in its absolute capability to be broken.
[You have chosen Reflection Domain]
[You have gained a perk.]
The Other Side: You have access to a 'mirror dimension', you can directly manipulate and change aspects of this mirror world, allowing you to go inside, pull out objects, put in objects, and more!
'hm... so this is basically 'man in the mirror's' ability from Jojo... decent I suppose...'
I let out a low hum as I blankly walk forwards. 'nooow I wonder where I am? The real world? An anime? A game?'
*Growl*
Standing behind me is a large black bipedal wolf with red eyes and a white mask.
"…"
"Ah, yes, a werewolf."
With a howl it lunges forwards... fairly slowly... I mean, I would have expected this thing to lunge for me and cleave my head off before I could even blink, but this is taking a little while...
I duck down, allowing the beast to soar over my head.
I pick up a rock as I do so and turn around, blankly staring at the wolf as it gets its bearings and turns around.
I look down to a puddle on my left, then look at the giant wolf.
"Mn."
It lunges forwards, so I boreally toss the pebble into the puddle.
A white outline surrounds the wolf.
The werewolf-like monstrosity makes its way into frame just as the pebble hits the puddle with a splash, sending a ripple throughout.
The creature visibly ripples and stops its charge, but looks mostly unharmed.
'hrm...'
I use its brief moment of pause to step over to the puddle and prod it with my finger, right where the black wolf's leg is.
*Splurt*
Its leg deforms, as the creature beside me collapses, its form in the puddle follows as well, I glance over to it to see that its hind leg looks like somebody shot it with a cannonball, it is twisted and dented as it had taken a watermelon of steel right to the kneecap.
I snap my finger. 'Beowolf! That's what it's called!'
'So, that means I'm on Remnant... somewhere...'
The crippled beowolf lurches towards me, but I simply drag my finger across the puddle, causing it to be launched out of frame and its chest to be dented as if I had hit it across the chest with a tree trunk.
"…"
"Neat!"
The beowolf smashes into a tree, its neck snapping and its body falling still.
I take this moment to actually acknowledge what I look like, black hair, purple eyes... nice. I'm a total hottie! I guess that's just divinity for you~
'I guess I'll wander around where-ever I am for a bit... run into plot-important characters perhaps? I'm thinking... Ruby and Yang? Neo- even though realistically she shouldn't be out here... Velvet? Maybe Ren and Nora? That one actually seems pretty plausible... it'll probably be the first two or the last two if I am going to be honest.'
I stand up, put my hands behind my head, and casually wander off into the distance... not a care in the world.
"KYAAAA! U-Ursa! O-OW!"
I slowly blink as a cloaked figure leaps out of the brambles.
She has short dark red hair, looking black in all but the tips, piercing silver eyes, and tattered white tablecloth stained brown and green from mud and grass.
She has a couple of scrapes on her arms and legs and a small steadily forming welt on her cheek from a branch that slapped her.
'ah. It was ruby... and it appears she is cosplaying as her mom or something...'
She locks eyes with me and shouts. "RUN AWAY!"
A large figure crashes through the brush behind her, tearing easily through the brambles
I slowly blink as she rushes past me, gazing over her shoulder to see that I'm not moving.
She skids to a halt, runs back and grabs my wrist. "Come on!"
I refuse to move.
"An Ursa Major, hm?" It actually looks like it is completely ignoring me right now... going only for Ruby.
The Ursa is outlined white as I toss a pebble into a nearby puddle.
*SMACK*
Its head barely moves downwards as a force which is similar to a catapult's stone hits it dead on the back of the neck.
"Oh shit." I whisper, allowing Ruby to pull me along, the now angered bear chasing after us.
I manage to keep up nicely.
"W-Why are you out here?!" Ruby huffs as we run.
"Why are you?"
"I- uh got a little too adventurous and got a little lost."
"Mn. I sort of just woke up here. No real memories, no idea how I got here... that sort of thing..."
"T-That's horrible!" She cries.
"Yeah." I nod. "Anyways, we're about to die, yeah?"
A tree behind us shatters as the Ursa barrels through it.
"I-I don't want to die!" Ruby cries. "H-How will I be able to help people if I DIE!"
"Mn. Alright then. Follow my lead."
I change directions, tugging ruby along as I make my way towards a large puddle... one of those GOOD ones you would see on one of those four-wheeler paths where the tires dug a small pit... you can't tell how deep it is and the water is all murky and brown... this is what I need for my plan.
"W-What are you doing?!"
I stop in front of the puddle.
I haphazardly shove her forwards as she gains a white outline.
"Nooo! I don't want to get dirt-" she is silenced as she falls into the puddle, the reflection showing that she gets hurled away from the edge and out of frame.
I hop into the puddle as well.
"-appened?!" Ruby finishes as she looks around, her eyes snapping over to me as a transparent Ursa Major stops in front of the puddle, looking around confusedly.
It is eerily quiet here... even the Ursa raising up and slamming its paws onto the ground has no sound.
The world seems slightly faded... only the puddle showing any real vibrant color as it shows a reflection of the outside world.
"W-What did you do?!"
I give her a thumbs up. "I took care of the ursa problem."
She observes the fact that we are standing under the ursa, my body half-way through one of its back legs.
"A-ARE WE DEAD?! DID WE BECOME GHOSTS?!"
"no, we are still alive... how do I describe it..." I cup my chin and look up towards the sky. "Hrm..."
Ruby seems to have calmed down slightly due to the fact that we aren't dead.
"You know what a mirror is, yeah?"
She slowly nods.
"Basically, we stepped into the mirror, taking our reflection's place."
"OOOOH!" She gasps. "That's SUPER cool! That's an AMAZING ability! Just think of how many people you could save with that!"
"The only problem is that I need a reflective surface to activate it."
"Oh... W-Well it's still really strong!"
She looks to the transparent Ursa prowling around and smashing trees.
"S-So how do we get out?"
I gesture to the puddle. "Reflective surfaces."
She slowly blinks. "any reflective surface?"
"Well, it has to be big enough for us to fully pass through I'm pretty sure..."
"Anyways." I shrug. "My name is..."
I look up and scratch my chin. "I can't... remember... but I'm feeling 'Asmodeus'… for now at least."
"Oh!" Ruby blinks.
"My name is Summer!"
"Pardon?"
"My name is Summer, Summer Rose!"
"…"
'WHAT THE FUUUUUUUCK?!'
We walk through the utterly silent world of the 'Upside Down'- which I have dubbed this place due to the fact that everything but us will be reversed- the silence is broken... only by a single voice.
"So anyways, I've always wanted to be a huntress! They are just so cool! I want to help people! I used to get bulled a lot in school for my eyes, but then a super cool huntsman appeared and told the others to leave me alone and they did! I really want to be cool like that... if I can make even one person's life better like that man made mine, I'd say my rigorous training would be worth it!"
"Mhm..." I hum with half-lidded eyes as I stare blankly forwards, Summer leading us both because- and I quote- 'I know this place like the back of my hand!'
'oh gods I'm in the fucking past! I'm so far pre-canon that my mere appearance has probably erased Ruby and Yang from existence ENTIRELY! Who is going to beat Salem?! Who is going to stop Roman and Cinder?! Will Summer even die-'
I slowly blink as I realize something.
'I can change this...'
'I can force Summer to live... defeat Cinder and Roman... put Salem on the fucking moon! YES! I can make this place have a happy ending! Buuut first, I should really amass some sort of power...'
"-and that's why I hate Cabbages... always have, always will!"
I slowly blink.
'ah damn... with my internal brooding I seem to have missed a funny-slash-embarrassing story...'
We pass THROUGH a pack of beowolves prowling around, Summer getting starry eyed as she gets a closer look.
"WOOOOAH! I have never seen one this close before! Actually... the only time I saw one was when my dad took me out hunting! That was fun- OH! I meant hunting for things like Rabits and Deer, not Grimm, but my dad is pretty strong! Not huntsman level, but he does have his aura unlocked, so he was able to fight a whole pack of beowolves by himself!"
'her endless energy is slowly killing me...'
"Are we even going the right way?"
"Of course we are!" The girl gasps, awed at the fact that I could even consider that she is wrong.
"At first, I was sort of just guessing, but now I know where we are! We aren't that far away."
We come to a stop juuust in front of a cliff that drops off to another forest about two hundred feet below.
"…"
"We might be a little lost..."
"Yeah." I deadpan.
"So, how old are you?" I ask as I slowly follow along.
We had been in this forest for about two hours now... no real sign of Summer's home... and it is actually getting a little late in the evening, so in about an hour or two the sun is going to be going down.
"Fifteen... you?"
"Uh... I think I'm around that age as well... do you have your aura unlocked yet?"
"Hrm... no... my father really doesn't want me to be a huntress... he says that it's too dangerous for me... but I have been training by myself and with my bow I can even take out a beowolf!" She exclaims. "He just wants me to be a regular hunter... for deer and stuff... it's supposed to be the family business, but I want to have more impact than that! I don't want to be just a simple mob character while others go out and save the world!"
"You kill grimm without aura? That's cool..."
"I wish I had aura like you..." Summer pouts. "You have such a cool semblance as well!"
"I'm going to stop you right there." I frown as I hold up a finger. "I don't actually have aura."
"WHAT?!"
"T-Then how?! How did you do all this?!"
"Hrm... I dunno... I could do this as long as I can remember... which isn't that long now that I think about it, but I do this without any other ability... is it a racial trait? Some sort of bloodline ability? I don't know, but. It's cool."
"T-There are powers other than Aura?"
[You have gained a divine rank, thus making you a Demigod.]
"Uh. Yeah." I slowly blink as the world seemingly ripples, but Summer doesn't react so I assume she doesn't see it... "I thought you of all people would know that."
"…"
"What do you mean?" The girl questions with a head tilt.
"I mean, that the Ursa basically ignored me up to the point where I hit it with a rock... for some reason it solely wanted to kill you."
"Well... it's obvious the villainous grimm would want to slay the hero well before she grew to her strongest!"
"Mhm..." I hum. "But grimm are equal opportunist killers... why did it think I was less important than you?"
"…"
"Because... I am the hero?"
I facepalm, causing a small slapping sound to echo throughout the silent world.
"The grimm aren't smart, so it was something physical... not some sort of astral mission to slay the 'future savior of Remnant'… so what is different between the two of us appearance wise?"
The girl narrows her eyes slightly and leans forwards, hand on her chin as she looks me over, then looks down at herself. "I'm... a girl- *GASP* ARE THE GRIMM PERVERTS?! DO THEY WANT TO FIND ME AND PIN ME DOWN AND DO THAT LEWD STUFF THAT I SAW THEM DO IN ONE OF MY BROTHER'S COMIC BOOKS?!"
"Your eyes." I sigh with a flat stare.
"…"
"Oh." She whispers after a couple of seconds of silence. "what about them?"
"They're silver." I answer.
"And? Your eyes are purple." She states flatly. "I don't get what eye color has to do with that ursa hating me."
I rub the bridge of my nose. "That it. When we get out of this hellish forest. We are going to the library."
"Whaaat?! Nooooo! Books are lame! I'd much rather just learn to kill grimm!" Summer exclaims with a cry of loathing.
"Even if it was the secret to unlocking the true power of your eyes?" I ask.
She freezes.
"Wouldn't it benefit the 'hero of remnant' to have a super special power that only a couple have?"
"HRMMMMM." She hums, deep in thought for a couple of moments. "Fine... I'll read a-" she shivers "-Book."
Her stomach growls causing her to pout. "Mnnnn so hungry..."
"How long have you been out here?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Since about eight this morning..."
"So, you have been running around out here... without any food or water for about eight or nine hours now... right?"
She sheepishly scratches the back of her head. "I-I got lost!"
[As a Demigod you have unlocked a new domain.]
'…'
'I pick 'Perspective' domain.'
[Perspective Domain selected.]
I close my eyes. 'let's just look at this from another perspective...'
As if I had taken out a drone, my vision sways, Summer looking confusedly behind her as she notices I stop.
I take a quick look around in my out of body experience and notice something. "Smoke..."
"Hm?"
I blink and regain my vision, then point off into the forest. "There's a plume of smoke in that direction."
"What..." Summer whispers as her eyes slowly widen. "We need to hurry!"
Then she blurs off into the forest.
I sigh and follow after, easily catching up.
"Summer, I'm going to pick you up, alright? I'm barely trying right now."
"W-*huff* What?" She asks only to be scooped up into a bridal carry as I speed forwards nearly four times the speed she was running before. "EEP-"
Her tablecloth cloak ripples out behind us as we make it to our destination and I slide to a halt.
We see a small house, burnt and toppled; ashes scattered around the yard as a large wyvern grimm prepares to take off.
"No..." Summer whispers as she clambers out of my grasp, falling to her hands and knees as she crawls forwards. "N-No!"
'is this-'
She rushes into the house as a man mounts the wyvern and takes off into the sky.
My eyebrow twitches as I glare up to the man.
I hold out a hand towards him.
"Break."
He passes over a puddle and the wing of the wyvern shatters like glass.
You are out of Lesser Divine Abilities.
The wyvern spirals out of control and smashes into the ground somewhere out in the forest.
I look back to the house and slowly walk forwards.
Summer is sitting on the floor, crying her eyes out.
"D-DAAAAAAD!"
I silently walk forwards, a sleeping Summer on my back. Salem had targeted her family... she came back to see her mother, brother and father all butchered like cattle... Her mother didn't even have silver eyes and she was still killed, just not as brutally... her brother and father had their eyes plucked from their heads, then were burnt alive by the wyvern's flames... we exited the Mirror world for a moment to bury them, but otherwise we quickly returned.
Summer had pretty much sobbed herself to sleep... and I get it... if my parents had died like that, I don't know what I'd do... but we have to move forwards. I can't really stand crying girls, so... Salem is going to pay for this. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday, I am going to place her in a world of endless agony... no matter how long it takes.
I crest over the edge of a hill, looking off into the horizon to see a large city.
"Mistral..."
The first step of many in our journey to Beacon.
Chapter 2
"M-Mn..." Summer slowly wakes up and looks around, wiping her face as she concludes where she actually is.
She freezes as I assume, she remembers a key part of yesterday.
Tears threaten to spill out of her eyes again.
I glance over my shoulder to her. "You okay?"
"N-No!" She sobs, tears flowing fully. "My mom and dad, even my brother, are dead!"
"Why?!" She whimpers.
"Your eyes. They can destroy grimm and evil creatures."
She pauses. "W-What?"
'distraction successful.'
"The man that did that, flew away on a grimm wyvern, so, he has some sort of connection to the grimm... your family was murdered, because of simple things such as silver eyes."
"B-But my father didn't hunt grimm! He hunted animals!"
"Well, grimm don't age... whatever killed your family thought it would be easier to kill a simple hunter, instead of dozens of huntsmen one hundred years down the line... they are trying to erase all of the people with silver eyes... damn bastards... you didn't deserve it."
She presses her face into the back of my shirt again.
"Don't worry, Summer, I'll keep you alive... I have a plan... you want to be a huntress, right?"
"M-Mhm." She whimpers.
"Well, we are going to have to unlock your aura, then... we need to get to beacon."
She lets out a small pitiful moan.
"Hey... don't worry... we can get through this." I sigh with a small frown. "Eventually, you will be able to meet them again... nobody lives forever."
I frown slightly at her quiet sob, but continue on.
"Don't worry, Summer... we are nearly at Mistral... I know you must be getting pretty hungry, so we'll get something there."
"O...kay." She answers in a broken sounding whisper causing me to wince.
'this sucks.'
I shake my head as we reach the outer wall of Mistral... and walk directly through the open checkpoint.
I glare silently at a person who has just caused the largest commotion in a Remnant brand Mcdonalds... or, well, 'Mack Fronalds'.
He takes his food and walks towards the door.
I prowl over to him, and as my hand glows brightly, I snatch the bag out of his hand, the bag floating through his hand as it becomes physical in mine.
He freezes for a moment, then looks down at his hand, then starts angrily- but silently- yelling at what I can assume to be the top of his lungs.
I turn and walk over to where Summer is slumped at one of the tables.
I place the bag on the table and smile briefly, trying to lighten the mood if possible.
She glances at the bag, her stomach growling briefly before returning her face to the table as she lays face down on it.
"Summer... you should eat it before it gets cold... it's not as good when its cold..."
"Mnnnnn." She pathetically groans, before reluctantly sitting up and carefully opening the bag.
She takes out a single fry and eats it, then shoves the entire bag towards me.
"Summer... you should eat, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. I'm just worried about you right now."
She looks up at me, that lost and dazed look pulling at my heartstrings.
Her stomach growls again as she looks to the bag, then begins reluctantly eating.
"Hey, Summer... do you want to leave the mirror world?"
"Mn..." She grunts, as if to say she doesn't care one way or the other.
"I don't think it's healthy to stay in this silence for too long, so I'm going to take us out, right?"
She doesn't respond this time, so I just wordlessly step towards the window.
It shimmers for a moment as we step through it, then we appear on the other side.
"HOLY SHIT!" One of the people on the sidewalk shout as we literally just appeared basically out of thin air.
I wince as the bustling sounds of the city reach my ears.
I glance to Summer, still on my back as she lifelessly stares into the distance with her cheek pressed into my shoulder.
I shift my grip slightly, then turn and walk down the road.
"So, my plan is that we both go to Vale, right? I mean, that's where Beacon is, of course, then once we are there, we can move around the city in an attempt to gain attention."
"…"
I let out a sigh at her silence... she had blown through the first three stages of grief yesterday... now I suppose it's time for depression.
I honestly don't know how long this is going to last... I have- well, had- no experience in losing a close family member.
'I'm never going to see any of them again... am I?'
I shudder briefly but blink off the thought and smile up at the sun.
'Come on, Asmodeus, you need to be strong for her... you can break down later.'
I flinch as I realize something. 'I don't even remember my old name...'
I cringe slightly, but continue on.
'how the hell are we even going to get to Vale?'
'oh my gosh it actually worked...'
It took days, but it really worked...
Summer sits quietly beside me, knees brought up to her chest and leaning on my shoulder as the absolutely silent bullhead we are in lands, the ghostly apparitions of people going completely through us as they sit in the same chairs we are in.
Ugh... we are really starting to get filthy.
I pause. 'wait... if this worked... couldn't we just break into someone's house and use their mirror-world shower?'
I tilt my head. 'maybe?'
I really need to get a shower, actually...
And a nice warm bed.
My powers are REALLY strange... like... whatever happens in the physical world... happens here... but not everything in the mirror world happens in the physical world unless I use my powers to make it that way?
I really don't understand it myself, honestly... but I seem to be able to decide what is real and what is fake to me... I think that's what 'change aspects of this world' means... if I want something to be real here, it becomes real?
Is that why Cars and stuff are ghostly too? So I don't get hit by a fucking car?!
But in that case, why are the buildings and this bullhead real?! Those are manmade as well so they should be fake, right?!
Ugh. It's like debating over what a 'boundry' is for Yukari's power. Like, can she do ridiculous shit like manipulate the boundry between the color orange and a fish? The boundry between being here... but also there?
CAN YUKARI MAKE CLONES?!
I'm getting off topic.
Moral of the story: my powers are dumb and I feel dumb.
"It's time to go." I state to my depressed friend.
"Okay..." She whispers.
I grab her hand and help her to her feet, then gently tug her along as the ghosts leave the bullhead.
As we exit, the dull morning sun shines down upon us, a city of muted colors await in the distance, beyond the landing pad.
I cast a glance behind me and smile at her. "Come on! Maybe we can actually sleep in a bed today!"
"HUP!"
*CRASH*
The door to an apartment is kicked open.
I gesture inside towards my compatriot as she sighs and shakes her head... the first real emotion other than sadness I have seen on her in ages.
She sits down on the couch and lets out a small sigh.
I had decided this apartment is 'the one' due to its close proximity to a supermarket!
"I'll be back with some food in a second! Don't worry!"
She flops to the side and stares at the wall.
With my power, I require a Lesser Divine ability to snatch things out of people's hands... without it touching a mirror of course.
Petty Divine Abilities: Infinite/Infinite
Lesser Divine Abilities: 1 every day: (1/1)
So I can really only do that once per day...
On the OTHER hand, I can enter and exit glass and mirrors with a petty divine ability- yes, I was cutting it close with the Ursa Major when I first met Summer- but, now that I am no longer a quasi-deity... I can come and go as I please!
I reach through the glass of the freezer and snatch a frozen pizza, tugging it back through the glass and into the mirror world.
Apparently, with things like Glass, I can choose which side I come out of, allowing me to walk directly through them... with mirrors, however, I can only come out the reflective side... or maybe it just requires both sides to be reflective? I haven't exactly come across a double-sided mirror yet, after all.
Pizza in hand, I return to the apartment with a smile, only to freeze as I see Summer sleeping... and today it's at least slightly peaceful... she doesn't toss or turn... call out the 'momma, poppa' or the name of her brother... so I'm going to let her rest.
I simply put the pizza into the freezer and sit down.
My ploy is GENIUS! Basically I am going to mooch off the nearby supermarket to feed my new friend... taking like ten dollars a day for the foreseeable future.
Now, I get that it is three hundred dollar- well, I mean lien- a month... but just keep in mind how much food they throw out every DAY for passing its expiration date? Probably at bare minimum five thousand lien ish... are they really going to miss nine bucks from ALL that?
They should be THANKING me! Summer gets to survive, and nine lien of the food they were going to throw out ANYWAYS disappears... quite a fine trade if I do say so myself.
I scratch my chin with a frown as the sun beams in through the window.
'I should get towels... and soap...'
I shake my head. 'I really should have gotten them when I was there originally...'
"Here you go."
I give her a towel and washcloth, then hand her shampoo, conditioner, and some bodywash.
She looks down at the items, then back up to me. "What?"
"Go take a shower. Being clean is just as important as being fed or having a good night's rest."
She frowns slightly, but shrugs. "Okay..."
She stares down at the items in her hands, and for the first time in ages, I see a small smile.
She lets out a bitter-sweet sigh, then looks up to me. "Asmodeus... I know what I want to do when I grow up."
"Okaaay? What is it?" I ask.
"I'll tell you in a little bit." She states as she steps into the bathroom and closes the door.
"Oh." I call out. "Can you please toss your clothes outside after you're undressed? I need to clean them."
"A-Alright."
I stare down at the clothes with a small grimmace. 'how the hell am I even going to do this? I don't know how to wash clothes! It's one thing to follow the directions on the back of a pizza box, but washing clothes?! What if I mess them up?! Will she get sad again?! These are the last remnants of her family... I don't want to mess them up!'
I look down to my stained shirt.
'maybe...'
I don't want to try this on her clothes, but mine? That's an acceptable loss if they get ruined.
I hold my hand over the stain.
'clean.'
I watch as the stain disappears.
'HOLY- IT ACTUALLY WORKED!'
'AHAHAHA!'
"Summer, your clothes are clean." I call out to the closed door with a blank expression.
"Oh... You can come in. I... uh... have a towel."
I open the door to see her drying her hair with her towel.
"…"
I close the door... but the image is forever burnt into my mind.
"Summer. When you said you had a towel... I was expecting you to use it to, oh, I don't know, cover your body?"
"S-Sorry!" She whispers from the other side of the door. "But I really need my clothes, so if you could-"
I open the door just barely and poke my arm through, holding her clothes in it.
'why didn't I do this before?!'
I feel her take the clothing from my hands so I pull my arm back through and close the door completely.
I stare at the wall for a good thirty seconds before turning and walking away.
'Nope! None of that! lewd thoughts begone!'
I wouldn't be surprised if the fourth dimension fbi kicked down the front door right this second.
Summer eventually comes out and sits beside me.
She stares at the floor for a moment, before looking over to me. "Hey... I know I have been... sort of rude to you this past week, and all... I just wanted to say that I am sorry... I never had many friends... I was homeschooled, and very rarely went to the nearby town..."
She lets out a sigh and brings her knees up to her chest, her breath catching in her throat for a moment. "A-And well... when I saw what happened to... my family... it b-broke me... the only people I had ever known... gone in a single day..."
She sniffles. "B-But last night... I decided that I shouldn't let it hold me back... I-I'll remember the good times with them... and push forwards l-like t-they would want me t-to."
Tears begin freely dripping down her cheeks as she looks over to me, with a forced smile that is trying its best to not turn into a frown. "A-And... I'll be happy like they would have wanted me too."
"I understand." I sigh as I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, I understand your pain, I've just been trying to support you in any way I can."
"Thank you..." She squeaks.
I look to the wall. "Earlier you said that you had a plan? That you would tell me later?"
She wipes her face on her cape. "I did... didn't I?"
She looks extremely nervous for a moment, this nervousness even superseding her sadness, she lets out a long breath to calm herself, glancing at me for a moment before looking at the wall, chewing on her lip as she seemingly decides what to say. "I want... a family again."
I blink.
"I want to be able to have a gorgeous daughter... an adorable little son... a caring husband who can take care of me whenever I'm feeling down... and I was wondering if you..." She trails off after a moment, glancing briefly to me to judge my reaction. "Would be him?"
"Are you asking me to marry you?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"NONONO!" she waves her hands in front of her. "W-Well... not just yet at least... maybe in a couple years? Wh-what do you say?"
"Are you sure you want it to be me? Are you sure you aren't latching onto me as a coping mechanism?"
"You just proved that you care about my feelings... that..." She frowns slightly. "That makes me a little more sure."
"And besides... we would have a couple years to decide whether or not we w-want to go through with it or not... it's not like we can't change our mind, and well, I don't want to bind you into something that you don't want and w-well even if you did say no right now, it would give you time to warm up to the idea, maybe, perhaps and-"
I place my hand on her head. "If it would stop you from crying, then yes, I suppose I would be fine with that."
A small red blush appears on her cheeks as she looks away.
'huh... so that's how you christen a ship...'
"There's one more thing I want as well..." She announces. "I don't want to be weak... I want to be strong enough, so that if any grimm even dares glance at my family, I can tear them in half and incinerate them into ash."
'…'
'no comment on her slow descent into grimm serial killing...'
"So... we'd need to go to Beacon, then?" I ask.
"Y-Yeah... but we need aura for that... so how are we going to get aura?"
"hmmm..." I hum. "let me worry about that."
Chapter 3
Now... I might have a couple problems...
The largest of said problems is 'How do I get Aura in both Summer and I, then also train her up to an acceptable- but could still be pretty weak due to silver eyes granting her a bit of leeway in school- level where she won't be killed... all in two simple years.'
Now, I might be a god, but I think that miiiight be a little out of my current capabilities currently.
I need to teach her how to smith a weapon... I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO IT MYSELF! WHAT THE HELL?!
So my to-do list is this... and this is ranked via most important to least important.
One: Unlock not only my aura, but Summer's as well. [ ]
Two: Teach summer how to fight. [ ]
Three: Manage to get us both a place in beacon [ ]
Four: Forge both of us weapons. [ ]
Five: Space Open... but I feel like I am forgetting something...
'Oh right, I should probably add, 'Cuck Taiyang, Hide my reflection powers from Ozpin- because, really he would absolutely use me to toss Salem into an alternate dimension... then probably attempt to kill me so the 'key' to that world disappears, then maybe 'amass power' somewhere? I mean... there isn't much I'll be able to do when I am this weak.'
'oh, right. I need to figure out how much stronger than a normal human being a demi-god makes me... as a Quasi-Deity I could have probably killed that beowolf with my bare hands, but now that I am a demigod? The fact that I can use my ability to bind something to a reflection infinitely has already boosted my strength considerably... though I predict that stronger foes may resist that ability if I fuel it with petty divine abilities. As for my physical strength, at bare minimum I should be twice as strong as before? Maybe more?
'hrmmm. Hey system... what's my divine rank sitting at currently?'
Divine Ranks: 3
'wait, what?! How?!'
The user walked out of a window in front of quite a few people. Thus increasing your Miricle Bonus enough to rank you up twice.
'…'
The user has the potential to gain another Perk.
'pardon?'
The user gains an additional perk for every 250 divine ranks, or every time you progress into a new stage of godhood.
Additionally, you gain an extra domain for every 50 and when you progress to the next stage of godhood.
'and... just how many ranks do I need for my next state?'
You become a Lesser Deity at Divine Rank 50.
'hrm... alright then... but how strong does that make me?'
Your strength is dependent on your divine ranks, so a demi god with 10 divine ranks will be faster, stronger, and more durable than a demi god with 1... but the increase isn't as impressive as ranking up. However, it is still quite noticeable when comparing a rank 49 to a rank 1, the rank 49 being several times stronger than the rank 1.
'I meant 'how strong is a demi-god in general'.'
A capable demi-god without aura is capable of shrugging off small-arms fire with mere bruises, they are dozens of times stronger than regular humans as well, being able to potentially hold their own against experienced huntsmen.
A demi-god with aura, however, would be practically unbeatable by anything less than the 'four maidens'.
'huh... good to know. Does that mean that Ozpin and Salem are Deities to create four powers to rival demigods?'
They each were worshiped as gods for a time, but both have fallen, neither growing close to the 'Lesser Deity' status even in their prime.
'…'
'neat.'
I scratch my chin. 'hmm... I could technically spend my perk point on 'perspective'… but what if I want to save it? I'll get another when I become a lesser deity... and I'll get two new domains then. so what if they are both things, I want to have a perk in?'
'hrm, I suppose I will save it for then... reluctantly... I don't even know what I could possibly gain as a perk for perspective.'
Now I just need to focus on the task at hand. Unlocking Summer's aura.
I'm a fucking idiot.
Aura is a god-given power... a remnant of magic... and just what exactly am I?
A god.
I remembered that there was an 'aura domain'… and while I don't have it, unlocking it is completely different than creating it.
Purple crackles around my hand as I activate my recently unlocked aura.
It took my lesser divine ability of the day, but... the largest problem I had... dreading for two weeks- and potentially months in the future-... solved in ten minutes.
Does that make me incredibly smart at figuring that out... or incredibly dumb for allowing it to slip my mind?
I'd much rather not know the answer to that.
I have no idea what exactly my semblance is going to be, but maybe I'll stick to reflecting attacks... make that seem like my semblance while everything else is held close to my chest... hell, I could even pull a Meliodas and name it 'full counter' or something... actually that's not a bad idea... but 'full counter' is a little tacky and a bit of a mouthful which would get annoying to say over and over and over and over... so I'm probably just going to act like it's a 'full counter' by using a broken sword to do it, but name it 'reflect' instead.
Short. Sweet. A single word instead of two. Nice.
Maybe the complete silence- beyond the quiet snoring of Summer- is getting to me.
'I hope neither of us develop silence complexes...'
I shake my head. 'at least Summer's a lot happier than she used to be... I don't know how much longer I could handle depressed Summer... sort of like a depressed Ruby I can honestly see where she got her attitude fro- oh my god... I fapped to my eventual daughter...'
I shiver uncontrollably. 'and to Neo, Cinder, and Winter... each who probably aren't even conceived yet.'
I cringe. 'eeeew. Dear god I'm a degenerate... what the hell, man?'
'hold up. Summer wants ME?! What about RUBY?! WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITHOUT THE PROTAGANIST- oh right... nothing considering I'm planning on solving this world's glaring grimm-based problem... and if I have a daughter, I might ask to name her Ruby to honor the times before... there's also the fact that I am thinking about having children when I am currently fifteen... though I suppose Summer did get me on this train of thought with her whole 'I want to have babies with you' speech... which is paraphrasing I guess.'
She probably is only this attached to me due to the trauma of having everyone she knows die horribly... I'm the only one left so she is trying to keep me close to her perhaps?
'ah... yes, I was thinking about aura.'
I'm unlocking Summer's aura Tomorrow.
Summer stares at the crackling white power in her hands with awe. "How did you- you didn't have this yesterday?!"
You have gained two Divine Ranks.
I glance to the side.
Total Faith: 134
Worshipers: 0
Fanatic Worshipers: 0
Priests: 0
Churches: 0
Battle Modifier: 0
Miricle Bonus: 134
Total Faith required for next divine rank: 150
'huh... gaining divine ranks is... easier than I thought...'
This isn't accounting for eventual inflation.
'fuck.'
"Well, Summer, with this, you are one step closer to your dream... how do you feel?" I ask.
"Tingly." She whispers.
"That's it?"
"Happy." She adds.
"Understandable, I guess." I shrug.
Due to reaching divine rank 5, you now can use two Lesser Divine abilities per day.
'NICE!'
"So, Summer... what sort of weapon are you comfortable with?"
"A bow..." She states with a blank almost deadpan expression towards me.
"Alright, I guess I'll try and get you one of those so you can start practicing." I hum. "Buuuut you are also going to need to learn how to make one. And I don't mean a simple stick with some string, I'm talking a REAL huntsmen bow that uses dust and is made of metal!"
"But if it is made of metal... it won't bend as well, right?" She asks.
"Have you ever heard of a composite bow?" I ask.
"…"
"I'll take that as a 'no'." I sigh as I rub my head. "I'll be back shortly, alright?"
"O-Okay!"
"H-Hey... Asmodues... I know you said that you would be my h-husband and all, but... should we do... girlfriend and boyfriend stuff?" Summer asks as she tugs back the bowstring.
I'm having her do five shots with one arm, then swap to her other arm and do five more shots... without aura.
I assume Aura give a percentage bonus, or a flat out multiplier, so the stronger your body is in base, the stronger you'll be buffed.
It's simple Super Saiyan and Kaioken logic.
"What do you mean?" I ask as she releases the bowstring, causing it to launch... absolutely nothing!
"L-Like kiss and uh..." She continues in a really meek and tiny tone. "Sex?"
*Pfft-* I snort. "Absolutely not!"
"B-But don't we need to uh... practice? Is that how it works?" She asks, flustered at the fact I am laughing at her... or, y'know, the sex thing. "I'm sorry for trying to advance our relationship too fast! please don't leave me!"
"I'm not going to leave you." I sigh. "Listen, Summer, you're kind of cute and all, but really? Skipping straight to sex? That's like passing over dozens of relationship steps. And although I've never been in a relationship, I know that relationships formed around sexual contact and ONLY sexual contact are typically not healthy."
She blushes at the 'kind of cute thing' or it could be the entire embarrassment over innocently asking to practice sex thing... either or.
"I mean, I've only known you for like three weeks!" I snort again. "I never knew you were this lewd, Summer~"
"Stop laughing at me!" She pitifully growls with a pout.
I shake my head good naturedly. "Anyways, to answer your question, I wouldn't be opposed... dating is fine and all, but I still want to start slow, y'know... and with sex, even one small slip-up and we are parents... and I don't know if I could rein in whatever little monster comes out of that."
She raises an eyebrow as she looks at me. "What do you mean?"
I point to her. "Silver eyes."
I point to myself. "Mirrors."
"Both seem to be dominate traits and I have no idea how they would combine." I continue.
She blinks before whispering. "Oh... they would have silver eyes... like me..."
"And if that were to happen, we wouldn't be strong enough to protect them." I state with a frown.
"Oh..." She whispers in quiet understanding, most likely having her thoughts forcefully dragged back to her recent... ordeals.
"I understand." She hisses while grimacing slightly. "But you would be fine with... kissing?"
"Try 'holding hands' first. We already passed the 'sit in close proximity without hating each other' boundary, so that's probably the next logical step." I shrug.
'oh wow... holding hands... such lewd degeneracy!'
I narrow my eyes slightly. "Wait... are you striking up difficult conversations in order to get out of shooting more?"
"N-No?"
"Get back to shooting, Summer." I sigh with a small smile.
"B-But you're not doing anything!" She replies.
"And I can lift a car. You can't." I smirk. "This is just basic training to make sure you can wield a bow that can pierce the armor of a deathstalker. Besides, I am doing something... I'm looking for a good weapon shop to forge our new weapons."
"By standing... right beside me?" She asks.
"Yep." I state as i zone back out with my perspective powers.
"Really?"
"Yep." I nod. "Also did you know that this world has a couple vast black voids because there are places without reflective surfaces nearby? I think that's pretty interesting."
"U-Uh... neat?" She squeaks.
"It's fuckin scary, that's what it is."
"I'm so glad I wasn't alone in thinking that." She sighs. "Just running through the forest... only to step into the black void, falling eternally..."
"I mean, it's quite rare... even a drop of dew is enough to count as a 'reflective surface' allowing me to see through it." I note. "also..."
"Shoot bow, thanks." I state with a half lidded expression, not that I can even see Summer at the moment.
"Okay, okay!"
I hear the twang of her bow once more, causing me to smile.
I wipe the sweat pouring down my head as Summer does the same... we look down to our first real creation together.
A simple knife, straight, sharp, simple.
It doesn't exactly have a handle or hand guard yet, but I can already tell that this is our first success.
I pick it up and look over it.
I swing it a couple times. "Huh... yeah this one actually works..."
Summer lets out a gasp and claps, casting a quick glance to the massive pile of warped and broken knives. "YES! FINALLY!"
It took six months of work... well, six months of afternoons at least...
"And with this, we know how to work a forge."
"So can we finally move onto the next part?!"
"We'll craft your weapon first, then we'll do one for me... if creating a real huntsmen weapon takes a while, at least you will have one... I can just punch things for a while." I state as I pull a few sheets of paper out of my 'found' backpack.
"We need to draw a design for you, but that can wait till we get back to our temporary home."
I wheeze as she rushes over to me and wraps me into a hug, lifting me slightly off the ground as she does so.
'she's gotten stronger... again...'
I desperately try to ignore the two squishy mounds pressing into my side... putting two hormonal teens alone with no observers or any entertainment has been a bit of a... problem...
Well, for me more than her... probably... she is the one who asked to bang not even three weeks after our first meeting.
I slowly swallow and look away. "Well, we should be getting home, right?"
"Yeah!" She smiles as she drops me the inch or so to the ground.
I look to my shirt that's slightly sweaty. "Ugh... I need a shower."
"Same..." She sighs. "Working in the forge is fun sometimes, but it's just so hot, y'know?"
"Yeah..." I agree. "but I'd say the uncomfortableness is going to be worth it when we finally finish your bow."
"Yeah!" She cheers "It's going to be awesome; it's going to be cool, and it's going to shoot dust lasers!"
"Nice." I hum with a small eye-roll.
She's much happier now... rarely having moments where she stares at the wall for an extended period of time... but they still happen.
"You know what... I think we deserve something a little sweeter now that we completed our first weapon." I hum.
"R-Really?!" She asks.
We have been forced to eat basically anything that is near the freezer section, but I suppose I could make an exception for today.
"Sure." I nod.
"Yaaaay!" She cheers, causing me to pat her head.
We eventually come to a stop in front of our apartment. "You can go inside, I'm going to grab us some dinner and desert."
"Can we have pizza also?" She asks as she begins climbing up the steps.
"Sure." I nod as I turn and walk to the nearby supermarket.
I watch as a man with a handgun holds up the cash register, he short black hair that's similar to a crew-cut, with red shades and a simple black tuxedo.
'is this... one of junior's guys?'
I shake my head. 'doesn't matter... the fucker is messing with my store.'
The real question should be 'does this man have aura?'
I touch his gun as it glows brightly.
I look over it, as the gun is now in my hand, causing the ghost to panic as his only weapon disappeared into literal thin air.
"Pretty impressive." I hum as I look over it, flicking the safety on so I don't actually shoot something important.
It's quite simple, just a blank colt-esque semi-automatic handgun that you could probably buy from the gun store... ten bullets, one in the chamber, I might have to hit up a gun store to get more...
With gun stores, I'm a little less enthused about stealing from, after all, in all those cop shows I used to watch in my previous life, they could always figure out where guns had been purchased.
Also, stealing food from a supermarket is a little different than stealing ammunition from a gun store... though I suppose I have been stealing scrap to make our practice knives... actually, I could probably melt those down again to make Summer's weapon...
I absentmindedly note as the shopkeeper pulls a shotgun out from under the counter and points it at the man, then I simply go to the baked-goods section.
With a glow and a simple touch, a cake disappears into my grasp, then its only a small walk to the frozen food section to grab a peperoni pizza.
This life is a little rough and isolated... but good nonetheless.
I open the door- which is still unable to be locked from the time I kicked it open. "I'm baaaack!"
"Oooh! Oooh! What did you get me?!" I hear Summer ask from the bathroom as she throws open the door.
It looks like she was considering taking a shower, but still hasn't gotten her clothes off yet.
I set down the cake on the kitchen table.
"A CAKE?!" She gasps. "YEEES!"
"I don't know when your birthday is exactly, so I thought I'd get you a cake anyways."
She flinches for a moment, but a smile slowly spreads across her face as she rushes over and envelopes me into a hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
She opens the plastic container the cake is in and takes a big ol slice out.
She looks up and frowns as she notices I'm not eating any with her. "Deus... come on, you can eat some too! I don't want you to get sick because... you save everything for me."
She stares at me with those big and innocent eyes with a pleading expression.
I wince. "Hey, I'm okay, honest..."
"Deus... please?"
"Fiiine, I'll eat some pizza when I finish cooking it... but this cake is yours. I can't get many hot or lukewarm treats, so enjoy it."
She smiles, relieved that I am going to eat something with her, she does this often, about once every week or so I have 'not eaten' in her presence... I say I had some elsewhere, buuut I think she's starting to not believe me...
I don't have the heart to tell her just how different I am...
Her smile beams brightly. "Today is a good day! We finish a functioning knife, and we get to eat cake and pizza!"
"It is indeed." I nod along.
She looks over to me with a slightly nervous expression. "I l-lov-ike I like you, Asmodeus."
"I like you too, Summer." I reassure.
